Anthony: Santa wears Rudolph's skin. I love Christmas time.

You won’t find a shorter film reviewed this month. After what felt like a workweek that never ended, I wasn’t in the mood to sit down and watch some schmaltzy holiday crap with uplifting, positive vibes. No, I was feeling much more cynical and perhaps more importantly lazy. I need something short, sweet, and preferably not filled with Christmas cheer. Step forward Jonathan van Tulleken’s short film, Anthony (2014). The film tells the story of Santa (Tim Key) and the titular elf, Anthony (Tom Basden) who are attempting to survive in the wilderness after crashing the sleigh on Christmas Eve, while also needing to deliver one present so they don’t disappear. And from the first moments of the film, you get the vibe it is going for. We open to Anthony, panicked, and witnessing the crash site littered with dead reindeer and elves before we get anta’s first line which is simply “you prick”. And this tone of black comedy is the whole through-line of the film, and it is delivered brilliantly by both Tim Key and Tom Basden. They play off each other really well, and Tim Key’s deadpan, chain-smoking, Santa is one of my favourite portrayals of the jolly man. The film is not afraid to be cynical about Christmas and the character of Santa especially, but it is also very, very funny. There were at least two moments that gave me prolonged belly laughs, and the film is a mixture of witty dialogue and setting up a joke before jump-cutting to the punch line. Mix this with some great cinematography over icy tundra and a score that is reminiscent of The Shining (1980) and you have a great black-comedy short. But why take it from me when you can just watch it yourself.